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The global pandemic threatening us all today is coronavirus COVID-19. Corona virus is a kind of common virus which leads to an infection in the nose, sinuses, or upper throat of the person affected with the virus. However, most of the coronaviruses aren't dangerous.
So, what actually is a coronavirus?
If we talk about the history, coronaviruses were first spotted in the 1960s. However, we don't know where the viruses came from. They get their name from their crown-like shape. Occasionally (not very frequently), a coronavirus can also infect both animals and the humans.
If we talk about spread, most coronaviruses travel like other cold-causing viruses do: coronaviruses spread through infected people coughing and sneezing, by touching a person infected, or by touching things such as glass, doorknobs, chair etc., that infected people have touched.
Almost everyone gets a coronavirus infection at least once in their life, most likely as a young child. In the United States, coronaviruses are more common in the fall and winter, but anyone can come down with a coronavirus infection at any time.
Some of the severe coronavirus outbreaks include:
Coronavirus COVID-19: In early year 2020, in the wake of a December 2019 outbreak in China, the World Health Organization (WHO) spotted a new type, which was named, 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). And, this 2019-nCoV can be fatal. The WHO named the virus as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and named the disease it leads to as COVID-19. The outbreak transcended the Chinese boarder and spread around the world. The obvious and most common symptoms of COVID-19 include (the list is not exhaustive) fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS): Approximately 858 individuals have died from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). This coronavirus first appeared in Saudi Arabia and then spread on to other countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and parts of Europe. In May 2015, there was a major outbreak of MERS in Korea. This was the largest outbreak of coronavirus outside of the Arabian Peninsula.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS): In the year 2003, approximately 774 people died from an outbreak of coronavirus. As of 2015, however, there were no additional reports of cases of SARS.
Common Symptoms of Coronavirus you need to watch out for
The common symptoms of most of the coronaviruses are similar to any other upper respiratory infection. This may include (but the list is not exhaustive) runny nose, coughing, sore throat, and sometimes a fever. In most of the cases, it would be difficult for you to know whether you have a coronavirus or a different cold-causing virus, such as rhinovirus.
In the midst of the spread of coronavirus global pandemic, MedicPresents.com has come up with some useful free resources for medics who are in the forefront fighting this disease.
For more on the novel coronavirus COVID-19, please see MedicPresents.com’s Coronavirus Resource Center.
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